‘The Love Boat’ premiered 45 years ago today, September 24, 1977

Another unique aspect of The Love Boat was its writing format. Each episode contained several simultaneous storylines, each one written by a different set of writers. Each set of writers worked on one group of guest stars and their story of the week. As a result of this, episodes ended up with ungainly titles like "Disco Baby/Alas, Poor Dwyer/After the War/Ticket to Ride/Itsy Bitsy: Part 1." This also led to notorious continuity errors, most notably in Julie's outfits during boarding and disembarkation, which were often inconsistent between storylines. Even though the cast of Charlie's Angels had been on separate episodes of the show, there was a crossover episode of the show in which the lady detectives had a case on the ship. On rare occasions, there would be crossovers between the stories. In one episode, actors Robert Reed and Florence Henderson, formerly of The Brady Bunch, guest starred in separate segments. In one scene, the two pass each other in a corridor, execute a "do I know you?" double-take, and then continue on their separate ways without talking.

In a one-time Fantasy Island crossover episode, the cruise ship makes a detour to deliver a troubled woman (played by Loni Anderson) to the mysterious island, and her storyline continued on that show.

There were usually three storylines. There was a pattern to the three storylines: one storyline focused around a member of the crew, a second storyline would often focus on a crew member interacting with a passenger, and the third storyline was more focused around a passenger (or a group of passengers). Additionally, the three storylines usually followed a similar thematic pattern: One storyline (typically the "crew" one) was straight-ahead comedy. The second would typically follow more of a romantic comedy format (with only occasional dramatic elements). The third storyline would usually be the most dramatic of the three, often offering few (if any) laughs and a far more serious tone.

The Love Boat theme song was sung by Jack Jones (except for the last season, where a cover version by Dionne Warwick was used). The lyrics were written by Paul Williams with music by Charles Fox. The song has since been recorded and released commercially by Charo in 1978 and Amanda Lear in 2001.

The opening sequence for the series underwent three different changes over the years. From seasons one to eight, the opening sequence began with a long shot of the ship before the camera slowly zoomed in onto its bridge area. This was followed by posing shots of the crew members (updated several times due to cast additions and changes throughout all seasons) at different points on the ship set. The long shot footage of the ship was used for the credits of the celebrity guest stars. For only the first season, the guest stars were credited by having their names appear on the screen while the show's symbol, a circle with four hearts in the corners (resembling a porthole), wrapped around them. Starting with season two (and originally experimented with in the fifteenth episode of the first season), the heart porthole was graphically put in place and at the center of the graphic, the guest stars were shown posing for the camera on different parts of the set (or a city spot used in on-location episodes) while their names appeared at the bottom of the screen. For the final season, the heart porthole was replaced by a crescent wave and the long shots of the ship were replaced by a montage of the various locations traveled to on the show. At the center of the wave graphic, the guest stars in this version were shown posing for the camera wearing their formal outfits against different colored backgrounds.

The print ad for the premiere

Well, you can't win them all, Op... I know, lots of people loved this show, I just wasn't one of them

That was one crap-tastic show…but then who was home at 10pm on a Saturday night, much less watching ABC. Pure 70s dreck

R4 actually back then Friday and Saturday nights received high ratings. It isn’t how it is now.

It couldn’t hold a candle to “Love, American Style”…of which it is a rip-off.

And now it's BACK -- sort of.

There were 3 The Love Boat TV movies in 1976 and 1977 leading up to the series premiere in Sept 1977.

45 years ago it was exciting and new.

On YouTube there's a video that has every single celeb intro from the opening credits

^ And it's very, VERY long 💤😴

No, r9. 46 years ago it was exciting and new. America had already become familiar with the love boat prior to it being a regular series in September of 1977.

More former stars than there are in heaven!

R13, Wow what a shitty guest list of old people.

Ethel Merman

Cab Calloway

Ann Miller

Carol Channing

Della Reece.

I was in 5th grade when it premiered and loved it. I watched it faithfully until I was in high school. I thought a cruise was the epitome of an elegant, sophisticated vacation. All those tuxedos and evening gowns! I was often home by myself or watched it alone on Saturday nights. I remember bragging to one of my brother’s cool friends that I’d seen every episode and he was like “that’s nothing to brag about lil dude!”

I haven't seen that much old trim since the last time I came onto Datalounge.

R15 it’s typical gay behavior to watch every episode of the love boat.

Guest starring...

Please post over the top cheesy guest star lists.

Like Florence Henderson in the 1976 TV movie pilot.

Who gives a fuck?

^^I want to laugh, fool!

R2 all DL faves guest starring on that one!

The musical backdrop to the "Meth, Monkeypox, and Mickey Rooney" episode

I'm surprised more of the (many) cunty gays of DL aren't into it. I loved it, and watched it faithfully as a little kid, because that was better than going to bed early on a Saturday night. So many beloved classic movie stars, so many wacky one-liners, so many hot guys in swimsuits, so many later stars pre-plastic surgery. There's a Love Boat channel that runs 24/7 on Pluto, and it's such a fun antidote to all the shitty woke garbage being made today.

Please note from the ad at R2 that the guest stars for the premiere included DL icons Bonnie Franklin, Meredith Baxter-Lesbian and Suzanne Somers.

sniff

R26 the OP video is the opening to the very first episode.

Marion Ross, record holder with 14 appearances.

R14 clearly knows nothing about the great stars of Broadway and should be shunned.

1975 to 1981 were my peak TV years. Ages 8 to 14 (before I became more interested in boys). There was nothing else to do on Saturday night at my age except watch The Love Boat and the chillier Fantasy Island.

I also loved all the TV movies of that era, from the serious (the one about rape with Elizabeth Montgomery, or the one with Ed Asner & Maureen Stapleton about Christmas and family, “The Gathering”) to the exploitative (Linda Blair in adolescent prison) to the absurd (“The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders”). I’m relieved, however, they never made a regular series out of the “Making Babies” series of TV movies.

R31 and what did you do once you were interested in boys in the 80s? Not like you could be out and proud safely.

I’m watching the Love Boat right now on Pluto with guest stars, Donald O’Connor, Georgia Engel, Florence Henderson, etc. it’s shitty but soothing and non threatening or menacing.

^^^this episode is incredibly lame

R29 I thought it was Miss Flo Henderson

I'm watching an episode now, too, R33. Mostly dreck, but some good eye candy and the occasional good story or funny line.

Not sure what was worse -the writing or the acting.

Vicky aka Jill Whalen was so unnecessary

Didn't Princess Diana christen one of the new Princess line ships in the 1980s?

Who would've guessed that Gavin would have the most successful post-MTM series, well, until Betty and GG came along?

The Betty White Show was very successful

Everyone on this thread types fat.

I LOVE The Love Boat and watched most of The Love Boat during the worst of the pandemic. Here's a link to my thread about it!

[quote] The Betty White Show was very successful

Hi Alan!

[quote]Who would've guessed that Gavin would have the most successful post-MTM series, well, until Betty and GG came along?

The Love Boat ran for several seasons more than The Golden Girls, so Gavin still wins. Of course if you add GG to Hot in Cleveland, then Betty had more episodes.

God I'm so old, I remember watching that Love Boat/Fantasy Island crossover with Loni Anderson in its original run. That was quite the TV viewing event.

The Golden Girls remained on the Top 10 most watched shows of the year for 6 years out of 7.

The Love Boat was on Top 10 for 2 of its seasons.

The Golden Girls was the bigger show.

R44 a few more seasons NOT several.

[quote] who was home at 10pm on a Saturday night

I don't know, but if they were they were watching Fantasy Island, not Love Boat.

I was home on a Saturday night when I wasn’t going out to eat with my parents. I was only 5 yrs old.

Comfort TV and was good at that. My only objection was the episode where 'Doc' romanced Juliet Prowse and it was so clear he wasn't close to being in her league.

Doc was seen as a hottie and not only was he not hot but he was old.

Lauren Tewes was a big fan of the nose candy.

No one has mentioned Lauren Tewes and her cocaine problem.

I’m mentioning it now.

Bert Convy was the producers' first pick for Doc, but he wasn't available. They also looked at Ted Bessell and Barry Coe.

Doc may not have been the sexiest guy to board the ship, but Bernie Kopell was definitely one of the better actors to sail.

Kopell and Fred Grandy had previously both appeared on The MTM Show alongside Gavin. Kopell played one of Mary's dates, and Grandy played priest.

why he was considered the draw of the show is beyond me, and I recall watching it

By "woke" r25 means "I don't want to watch any shows with non-white" people

R58 what’s funny is that these shows had black guest stars and the bartender (one of the main characters) was white.

I think about shows like Star Trek and The Mod Squad, and how those were in the 60s, yet in 2022 the unintelligent Trumpers use that word in anything with a black person. Meanwhile, diverse casts have existed for 60 fucking years.

And gay men have no business complaining about woke, something they benefit from.

I always assumed the Captain was a harsh taskmaster. Demanding homo sex and getting it from the milk toast male crew.

I've shared this before here, but I'll add it to this particular thread. I had a particularly depressing, shitty and lonely holiday last year from Christmas through my birthday (January 4th) and spent almost all my time in bed watching Love Boat on Pluto. Definitely cheesy, but comfort tv for me and allowed me to fall asleep to what felt like a companion. Haven't watched it since though.

R54 not available - wtf was he too busy at the time doing, guesting as a Match Game panelist?

I would have actually liked to have seen that though.

I meant the bartender was black. Smh.

R61 there are certain shows I consider comfort shows also, and like to fall asleep to or keep on as background noise when I’m not actually paying attention. Brady Bunch is one, Friends is another.

We knew what you meant, r59.

Speak for yourself, R65! I thought he was saying Ted Lange was a white man doing the role in blackface and I was preparing to have him CANCELLED!!

; )

DL fave Bonnie Franklin was outstanding as Stubing's ex-wife.

King Kong 1976. Solved two problems with '33 and Peter Jackson versions. Brought Kong to NYC in a super tanker, not a raft (Huh?). And didn't portray Carl Denholm as some kind of heroic adventurer. The bastard was responsible for hundreds of deaths on Skull island and in New York. In the '76 version was correctly portrayed as a greedy oil company executive. Most satisfying.

R53 why did Julie get fired from the Live Boat?

She forgot her lines! (Not the written ones!)

*Love

Why couldn't Gavin get Mary to guest star? Betty, Georgia, Valerie, Cloris, and Ted all made appearances.

Featuring Lauren Tewes as America's favorite cokehead.

I always wondered about those 70s - 80s shows: why they didn't hire talented, gorgeous people? It seems like they went down to the Hollywood unemployment office and rounded-up casts. I mean, John Ritter for a hot stud living with two sexy chicks? Balding, pudgy Gil Gerard for Buck Rogers?

None of the Love Boat cast went in to any kind of Hollywood career afterwards.

I was out at some bar (NY) that night, I'm sure. I had sex with a different guy every day in September, 1977. I never saw this program until 1981, when I visited my father for a week. Newly retired, he watched it every day in syndication. It was the dumbest program I'd ever seen.

R73 because A. Hollywood wasn’t as shallow back then as now.

B. Most shows were made for families but their target was adults, and most adults watching were from Middle America and not as shallow as people from NY or LA.

C. Most of the best beauties were for the big screen.

It used a template that Aaron Spelling established with Burke's Law: a little bit of glamour and a lot of rather washed-up "stars" hired for scale and a days work to provide exposure.

[quote] I don't know, but if they were they were watching Fantasy Island, not Love Boat.—Love Boat was at 9

Except that before Fantasy Island came along, Love Boat WAS on at 10pm, as evidenced by the ad posted by R2

Vicky was a little cunt

Love Boat aired at 10 pm for just HALF of its first season. It moved to the 9pm slot in late-January 1978 when Fantasy Island debuted (bumping the past-its-expiration-date Starsky & Hutch from the 9pm slot).

I loved it

R77 Thank you!

Gayling me started watching with Ted McGinley. The first hot crew member.

he was WAY hotter than the rest

R83. A fairly low bar… though, perhaps a Ted sandwich —both Lange & McGinley?

The gopher character was such a loser.

[quote]The gopher character was such a loser.

No surprise that Fred Grandy is a Republican.

Ted was a golden Newport Beach god. Bonus points, funny on Married With Children.

R68 I missed the Kong episode of Love Boat, would love to see it, I assume Kong takes a fancy to Vicki.

R76 I think it also gave the guest stars a credit on their resume to keep them in SAG-Aftra.

Grandy is on the Board of some extreme anti-Islam "think tank". He also had an AM radio talk show.

[quote]I think it also gave the guest stars a credit on their resume to keep them in SAG-Aftra.

Once you're in SAG-AFTRA you're a member for life, as long as you pay your dues. Credits aren't required to retain membership. You do need to have worked a certain amount each year to keep your medical insurance, however.

Fred was viciously slapped

I like the episode where Gopher's college roommate has a sex change and is played by Mackenzie Phillips. I thought maybe they'd fall in love, but no.

They likely just fucked

Ends October 23!

Two corpses

After it finishes, Bernie and Hal will be starting a joint OnlyFans account.

Hal looks damn good for 117.